The Life & Lies of the Half-blood Prince
by Cosmyk Angel
Summary: This story is the story of Severus Snape. It will cover what we know from the books and what we don't know from his life. It will explain why he made the choices he did and the regrets he has to live with. I am rating this story 'T' just to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

The Life and Lies of the Half-blood Prince

Disclaimer: This world belongs to J.K. Rowling, the most inspiring author. The idea behind the world and the characters belongs to her; I am merely supplying an alternate plot idea. I make no money or other profit from this story; it is purely for entertainment purposes.

**Chapter 1 – The Birthday Present**

_Spinner's End, January 9, 1971_

Severus woke up, blinking his eyes to clear the sleep from them. It was still dark as he peered out the tiny curtained window of his attic bedroom. He could see the faintest of lightening on the rim of the horizon to indicate the sun was attempting to make itself known. The rest of the sky was the pale beige-white that indicated more snow was on the way. The ground and trees shone white with the snow that had fallen the evening before.

A sound at the door had him turning. His mother entered slowly, still limping from where his father had pushed her down the stairs a week before. She was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers and had a slender, wrapped package in her hands. He hurried over and helped her sit on the side of his bed, the quilt of which was tattered and worn and barely kept him warm on the coldest nights.

Eileen bent forward and kissed her son's brow. "Happy birthday, my Severus," she whispered, pressing the package into his hands. Severus took the package reverently and very carefully peeled the paper away from a long slender box. His heart gave a leap as he realized what must be inside. He took off the lid and set it aside before pulling out the thin black wand inside. The moment he lifted it, green sparks flew out the end, and he smiled, turning back to his mother.

"This was your wand, wasn't it?" He whispered, aware that they must not wake his father.

"Yes, ebony and merfolk hair, according to Olivander. He said it was rigid and quite good for a variety of magics. I want you to have it, my son," she stroked his head, her long fingers gently combing the tangled black locks.

"But what will you use?" he asked, his black eyes wavering on the verge of tears.

"I won't be using one. I haven't used that wand since before you were born. When my parents found out I had become pregnant by a muggle, they disowned me and bound my magic," she whispered, a catch in her voice. "I can still brew potions sometimes because potions don't require you to be magical to brew them, but I can't cast a single spell. You should receive your Hogwarts letter soon and I want you to have a good wand. I also still have most of the textbooks you will need."

Severus looked up at his mother, openly crying now. "I love you, mum. Can't you ask someone to unbind your magic?"

She shook her head, "I'm afraid that's impossible. Only the life sacrifice of a person of my blood would undo the binding and I would rather remain a squib for the rest of my life than to see you give your life for my magic."

"I would do it for you, mum," Severus replied loyally.

"I know you would, but I would never ask you to, in fact I absolutely forbid you to ever sacrifice yourself for me. I want you to swear to me that no matter what, you will not give your life for mine," Eileen's voice was desperate.

In a shaky voice, Severus made a vow, watching with mingled sadness and awe as a golden light emanated from the tip of his new wand and swirled down his arm, coiling around it like a snake.

A bellow from below had her starting to her feet. "Hide that wand, quickly. If your father finds it, he will snap it," she hissed, hurrying out of the room as fast as her limp would allow her to go. "I'm coming, Tobias."


	2. Chapter 2

The Life and Lies of the Half-blood Prince

Disclaimer: This world belongs to J.K. Rowling, the most inspiring author. The idea behind the world and the characters belongs to her; I am merely supplying an alternate plot idea. I make no money or other profit from this story; it is purely for entertainment purposes.

**Chapter 1 – The Birthday Present**

_Spinner's End, January 30th, 1971_

Severus slid out from beneath his bed, wand clutched tightly in his hand. He was going to show Lily his wand, he would prove to her and her snotty sister that magic was indeed real. He straightened his oversized coat, wishing again that it wasn't so patched and raggedy looking. Tiptoeing down the stairs, he skipped the second to last step, nearly falling on his face in his attempt to avoid the creaky step. His father's snores rattled the frosty windows. He snuck stealthily through the living room, carefully avoiding the scattered beer bottles. Through the kitchen where his mother was once again chopping cabbage for soup, and out the kitchen door, fingers crossed, his wand secreted beneath his thin coat. He shivered in the sharp January air as he ran headlong down the street for the park.

"Lily!" he hollered, seeing the red-head soaring high on the only unbroken swing.

Lily jumped off the swing using her magic to float herself gently to the ground, something her elder sister greatly disapproved of. "Did you bring it?" she asked eagerly, peering at him as the snow fell gently around them.

Severus nodded and produced the wand with reddened fingers, placing it on the ground between them so he could tuck his fingers under his armpits for warmth.

"Petunia refused to come. She said it was too cold. We can show her another time," Lily whispered, peering down at the wand reverently. "How does it work?"

Severus reached out one cold hand to pick up the wand and gave it a gentle wave. Blue and white sparks flew from the tip. Lily clapped her hands in delight at the spectacle. "Does it do anything else?"

"It is supposed to, but I haven't been able to practice any spells yet. If dad finds me with a wand, he will break it and he won't allow mum to buy me a new one. This one was mum's, she doesn't need it any longer so she said I could have it," he explained, not wishing to reveal that his mother couldn't actually do magic any longer.

Lily's eyes shone with sympathy as she began to suspect from the state of his clothing and his previous words that all was not well within the Snape household. "Do you really think I will get a letter for Hogwarts too?" she asked, her voice filled with hopeful disbelief.

"Of course you will, and you will be a right good witch too I bet. Mum says it takes a very powerful witch or wizard to control their accidental magic the way you do. She was rather surprised when I told her what you could do. I don't really think she believed me. She says muggle-born witches and wizards aren't real witches and wizards after all. I think she's wrong you know, what else could you be if not a witch?" Severus reasoned, slightly jealous of Lily's magical control.

"Can I try?" Lily asked, gesturing at the wand.

"Sure," he held it out to her with frozen fingers. She took it in mittened hands and he hastily tucked his fingers back under his arms, shivering as a breath of winter snuck down the gaping back of his overlarge coat.

Lily took the wand and flicked it in the direction of the swing. There was a loud crack and the swingset collapsed in a screaming pile of metal. Lily dropped the wand in shock, both children staring at the wreckage on the playground.

"See what I mean," Severus whispered hoarsely, "I think you are going to be a very powerful witch."

"But I wasn't trying to break the swing, I just wanted to make it shower sparks like you did," Lily whispered back, stepping away from the wand.

"Maybe it doesn't work right for you. Mum told me last week that the old man who sold her wand to her told her that the wand choses you, you don't choose the wand and that a wrong wand won't work right for the wrong person," Severus explained.

Lily looked confused for a moment as she worked out what he was trying to explain. "You mean your wand doesn't like me?" she looked horrified at the idea.

"Um, maybe, I don't really know, perhaps when you go to Diagon Alley to get your wand the wandmaster can explain it better," Severus hoped this was the case. He blew on his fingers, trying to stave off frostbite. Lily noticed and pulled off her mittens. "Here Severus, put these on, you can't be a wizard if you don't have fingers to hold a wand," she pressed them into his hands even as he was shaking his head.

"But what about your fingers?"

"My fingers won't freeze before I get home. Mum told me I could only be out for fifteen minutes. I knew I had to come and meet you since you don't have a phone to call. Don't worry about returning them, I have several other pairs at home," Lily replied.

Severus' cheeks burned with shame. He hated charity and this felt an awful lot like charity. He couldn't stand the fact that Lily knew his family was so poor he couldn't even have a pair of mittens in the winter. He was just thankful his over long pants legs hid the holes in his trainers. He slipped the soft dark green mittens onto his hands only because they were beginning to ache with cold. He sighed with relief as he could already feel the warmth seeping into his half frozen fingers. He bent down and scooped up his mother's wand, stowing it safely back in the inner pocket of his father's old coat.

"Severus, when do you think we will get our Hogwarts letters?" Lily asked, tucking a lock of dark red hair beneath her hood.

"I think they send them out in the summer. June or July would be my guess. I'll ask mum, see if she knows. When do you want to meet again?" He asked, knowing she would have to leave momentarily.

"Probably not until next Thursday, the weather man says we are in for a three day snowstorm, and Wednesday is Petunia's birthday. Mum and dad always take us somewhere for our birthday, so we will most likely be gone all day. I'll be here about noon on Thursday if I can," Lily decided.

Severus nodded, wishing his only friend farewell as they headed off in opposite directions.

-SS—SS—SS—

A/N: This entire story is from Severus' viewpoint, so if we don't see a lot of what is going on elsewhere, it means that Severus hasn't seen or experienced it. We will only see Lily and the Marauders through his eyes.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Cosmyk


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